


A Portal is Left Open

by punkyjo



Series: Ace Mansion November [2]
Category: Ace Mansion, The Ace Mansion
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-20 22:08:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21288947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punkyjo/pseuds/punkyjo
Summary: A portal is left open, and someone gets in.
Relationships: Dot/Tali, Dotali
Series: Ace Mansion November [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1534484
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	A Portal is Left Open

It started with a breeze. It lifted a curl here, chilled a bare arm there. Didn’t raise any suspicion, just tripped quietly through the kitchen, carrying the scent of snow on freshly turned dirt, of moss covered stone, of names chiseled into the book of life.

Gran rocked in her usual spot, hook disappearing and reappearing in her tightly stitched yarn, but when the breeze crept up to gently rustle her skirts, she stopped.

“You should leave this room,” Gran said to the others in the kitchen. Tali, Charlie, Grey, Emerald, just a few of the many children she loved to watch over. All they did was look at her. Because of course. There was nothing threatening about a breeze. It was what the breeze blew in that Gran was worried about.

Grey and Emerald already appeared to have knives at the ready. Tali’s hands were beginning to glow a deep orange. Only Charlie wisely made her way under the table, pressing up against a far wall so she wouldn’t be seen. Not that it would matter. The *thing* that was coming would know she was there because it would sense her life, and it would delight in taking it if given the chance.

The breeze picked up into a bluster, sending clothes billowing, hair whipping around faces. Clearly nothing natural about it now, the scent of decay overpowering their senses. “Is there something I can do for you, dear?” Gran called out over the now screaming winds.

It all suddenly came to a stop, and at that same moment, a young woman appeared in the center of the kitchen. She was tall and thin, with coppery hair, and pale blue eyes, and the edges of her were a little too sharp, a little too long for a human.

“Gran,” she said, by way of greeting.

“Dot,” Gran nodded back.

“I thought I asked you to stop calling me that,” Dot said, standing unnaturally still. Her face was so pale, impossibly pale.

The others looked to Gran, uncertain if they should attack or not. Charlie remained hidden, as quiet as she could be. Dot reached for her first.

“Don’t,” Gran said, as Dot’s fingers stretched towards Charlie’s heart. “Please.”

Dot stopped, raising an eyebrow at Gran. “Then come home. Your presence is required for the sake of balance.”

At that, Emerald stepped forward, knife at the ready. “You’re not taking Gran,” sie hissed.

Grey stood a little behind, a wry smile on his face. “I mean, you’re welcome to try,” he said, twirling a knife in his hands.

“How did you get in?” Gran asked, waving off her would-be protectors. She didn’t want them getting caught in the crossfire.

“Portal,” Dot said simply. At the confusion on Gran’s face, she elaborated. “Someone left a portal open as they were leaving. Lucky I happened to be watching the world where they came out. I slipped in behind them.”

Tali, who had been standing behind Dot, now stepped forward, ready to strike at her from behind, and take her by surprise.

But Dot turned as Tali reached her. She looked Tali in the eyes, and tilted her head. “Strange,” she said. “Very strange.”

Tali huffed. “The only strange thing is the fact that you’re still here. Gran isn’t going with you, so get out, before we force you out.”

Dot stared at her for a moment, as her face slowly broke into a grin. Then it grew, until she was cackling a horrible high-pitched laugh that sounded like bones breaking. “You’re what passes for me in this plane of existence?” Dot asked, wiping tears from her eyes. “Incredible.”

Tali’s eyes were nothing but fury, and Gran couldn’t help but think how different things might have been if the two of them had met before Dot accepted her true nature.

“Let’s go,” Gran said, stepping forward before anyone could get hurt. “I’ll go home, for now.” She gave the others a wink and smile, and in a flash of light and a thunderclap, the two of them were gone, leaving no sign that they’d ever been there at all.


End file.
